When one gives offerings, it is common to have objects on our altar that have been there for a while. They aren't perishable, so we leave them on the altar as we should, perhaps only removing them when we replace them with another offering. They may feel old, worn, dusty tired or otherwise meaningless at this point. Don't worry, they needn't be.
Your offerings are touchstones or anchor points of communion with your spirits or gods and as such (if they are valuable and/or meaningful) they can be, in a sense, spiritually/magickally resuscitated.
This technique is one I "received" in meditation. I call it the "Empowered Offerings Technique." This technique is very effective at keeping the channels of communication open and is very powerful as it uses your own life-energy (often called prana, qi, chi or various other names depending upon the tradition of the speaker) as an offering to deepen communion between yourself and your spirits or god(s).
Empowered Offerings Technique
1.) Enter trance in whatever way is familiar to you. Maybe you breathe in a certain manner, maybe you know a process of self-hypnosis. Just do what works for you.
2.) Rub your hands together vigorously until your palms warm. As you do this, will your life-force energy into your palms. Intend that *YOUR life force fill your hands. You are not, as during a healing process, channeling the energy of the universe, you are filling your hands with your energy.
3.) Place your hands over the offering(s) on your altar and intend and feel, to the best of your ability, the energy flowing from your hands into the offering(s). In your mind's eye or just with your "felt sense," whatever is easiest for you "see" or "sense" the offerings growing more and more brilliant as you slowly "pump" your hands (slight up and down movements) over offerings on your altar. On the downward "pump" really force the energy into the offering(s).
Do this for a minute, maybe two at most. Don't overdo it because you are using your life-force energy and you don't want to weaken yourself.
4.) Know that the offering(s) are empowered.
5.) Keep your hands over your offering, but now, turn your hands over so that your palms are facing upward. Cup your palms over your offering. Now, in your mind's eye "see" or "feel" the energy of the offering radiating upward toward the back of your cupped hands and flowing into them and through them...flowing out of your palms.
6.) Now, as the energy is rising, you imagine it billowing, as a great cloud, out of your upturned palms as smoke (the color can be white or gold or the color that is, for you, representative of life...such as green or red). Allow this smoke, glowing with both the energy of your offering as well as your life force, through the power of your magickal will, to fill all time and and space.
7.) At this point, as the smoke is filling all time and space, say a prayer of offering such as:
"May the smoke of this offering rise to the thrones of the gods, may it descend into their shadowed kingdoms beneath the earth. May the smoke of this offering travel the winding current of time and the vastness of cosmic space becoming that which is most pleasing to the gods. May this offering please the gods and draw their favor, bringing me in stronger alignment with their highest purposes for me."
(Something like this. Of course you can substitute "spirits" for gods and the name of your tutelary deity(ies) for the term "gods.")
8.) Sit with the energy all around you for as long as you wish. If you like you may pray or meditate in this, what is now, sacred space due to your efforts. At this point you may feel a certain power to any devotional work you may do.
9.) End the rite with whatever word or phrase is comfortable to you such as, "So Mote It Be", "Amma Iset", "Io Evohe Hekate", "Amen", "So it is done", etc.
You may do this rite every few days if you wish. If you are fit, healthy, strong and/or practice energy arts like qigong, you may do the rite every day. However, as a couple of my friends who have used this rite have discovered, using your own energy daily can be draining.
Feel what's right for you and go with your intuition.
I have found that when I have a close relationship with a god, this rite is powerfully energizing.
My awareness and experience tells me that when this type of offering is made to a deity with whom have a close relationship, there is an automatic energetic exchange. It just seems to happen that way. You may find, as I have, that if you are willing to offer up a great deal of your energy that this rite may be a substitute for a blood offering. Try it and see for yourself.
Only do this rite, in any capacity, with gods or spirits you trust. You do not want to create a deep connection to just any being that you are not entirely familiar with.
(*Note that the Empowered Offering Technique rite can be altered via intent to use universal life energy or environmental chi as opposed to your own life energy in the manner of healers who act as a "hollow bone" for healing energy. In this case, simply draw life energy of the universe into you and empower your offering using this energy as opposed to your own.)
